The present invention relates to a device for temporarily storing a film of material, particularly, photographic film or paper. More specifically, the invention pertains to a film storage device for use in an apparatus such as a microfilm processor which combines functions of both photographing (image formation) and developing. In such an apparatus, there are serially arranged a number of processing sections or stations, including a photographing station, a developing station, a washing station, a drying station, and the like. Also, in such an apparatus, it is necessary to provide a film storage unit between the photographing station and the first and subsequent stations (hereinafter referred to collectively as the "processing section") which take part in the processing of the film after it has been exposed. The reason why such a film storage unit is necessary is that the rate at which the film exits the photographing section is usually different than the rate at which the film travels through the processing section. Thus, if no storage device were provided between the photographing section and the processing section, the film would be torn.
The inventor of the present invention has previously proposed one such system. A description of that system may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 450,176, filed Dec. 16, 1982. In this system, two different storage units are provided. Each of the storage units is constituted by a reel and a pair of guide rollers for guiding the film onto and from the respective reel. The reels are provided on opposite sides of a rotatable support member, the latter extending perpendicular to the axes of rotation of the reels. Film is first taken from the photographing section and wound up onto one of the reels. The support member is then rotated, after the film has been cut, so that the film from the photographing station can be wound onto the second reel. The film from the first reel is then simultaneously directed to the processing section.
In this system, it is necessary to stop the rotation of the take-up reel immediately upon the film being cut. However, because the reel unavoidably has mechanical inertia, stopping the film at precisely the correct position is difficult. Hence, the film has a tendency to be completely wound up onto the take-up reel. This, in turn, necessitates the provision of a mechanism to pull the end of the film off the reel and to feed the film to the processing section when the function of the reel is changed from that of a take-up reel to a feeding reel. (It is not, of course, possible to perform this operation manually since the operation must be performed in total darkness.) This mechanism is also complex and expensive. Accordingly, there is a need for simple device for maintaining the end of the film in the vicinity of the cutting position, that is, to prevent the film from being wound up onto the take-up reel after it has been cut.